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In a vacuum, it would be odd to see a poorly reviewed box office flop suddenly rocket up HBO Max’s streaming charts, but the timing couldn’t be better for Mark Anthony Green’s “Opus.” His strange showbiz thriller, which debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, boasts an impressive cast, but the actor that really matters at this point in time is Ayo Edebiri.
“The Bear” just ended its critically acclaimed five-season run, and, evidently, fans of the series are hungry for more Edebiri. I can’t blame them. She’s a reliably brilliant performer who elevates every film or show that’s lucky to have her, and seems to be on the verge of superstardom (which should’ve already happened via the uproariously funny “Bottoms”). She’ll next be seen in Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s “Mrs Dalloway” adaptation “Clarissa,” which received rave reviews at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, and has her next streaming series lined up with “Prodigies,” in which she’ll costar with Will Sharpe.
While we’re waiting for these projects, people are looking for Edebiri gems that might’ve passed them by. That’s why “Opus” is currently ranked fifth at HBO Max (over “Superman,” which was supposed to get a bump from the release of the sadly underwhelming “Supergirl”). While Green’s film has an intriguing premise, it may not deliver what Edebiri’s fans crave.
Ayo Edebiri goes head-to-head with a crazed John Malkovich in Opus
“Opus” is Green’s feature debut, and he’s mined his journalism background (he was an editor for GQ) for a thriller starring Edebiri as Ariel Ecton, a magazine profile writer who, along with other media types, has been summoned to the Utah compound of reclusive pop star Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich). Moretti is set to release his first new album in 30 years, but the vibes are immediately off due to the presence of the musician’s cult followers, who dress in denim uniforms and live by the tenets of a book dedicated to a belief called Levelism. The guests are all given copies of the Levelist bible, and are each assigned a Levelist chaperone.
Ariel is highly suspicious of the Levelists, and she has good reason to be as a shock jock guest played by Mark Sivertsen is attacked and beheaded early in their stay. As more guests begin to disappear, Ariel demands to leave. She’s restrained by her Levelist watcher (Amber Midthunder), at which point her life appears to be in jeopardy, too.
While /Film’s Bill Bria found “Opus” to be too predictable, he had high praise for Edebiri’s performance, and thought she was a terrific foil for a particularly intense Malkovich. The film runs a reasonable 103 minutes, so if you need an Edebiri fix, it at least won’t be time consuming. My big takeaway here: if Edebiri is spiking streaming ratings like this, her asking price needs to be going way up.
